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Music to Trump’s ears: Whitewashing Jan. 6 riot with song

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:36 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The song is simple and tinny, but that hasn’t stopped it from being embraced by former President Donald Trump and his allies in their campaign to rewrite the history of the deadly Capitol riot. The tune, “Justice for All,” is the Star-Spangled Banner, and it was sung by a group of defendants jailed over their alleged roles in the January 2021 insurrection. Recorded over a prison phone line, the national anthem sounds more like a dirge than celebration and is overlaid with Trump reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Despite its low fidelity, “Justice for All” has garnered a lot of fans. Trump, a Republican, played it at a recent rally in Waco, Texas, as images of Capitol rioters flashed behind him on a big screen, and the $1.29 song last month briefly vaulted to No. 1 on iTunes, supplanting such recording artists as Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift.Experts on extremism and propaganda say the song is another example of how Trump and his most ardent allies are trying to glos...

Russia’s air force accidentally bombs its own city

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:36 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — When a powerful blast shook a Russian city near the border of Ukraine residents thought it was an Ukrainian attack. But the Russian military quickly acknowledged that it was a bomb accidentally dropped by one of its own warplanes.Belgorod, a city of 340,000 about 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of the border, has faced regular drone attacks that Russian authorities blame on the Ukrainian military, but the explosion late Thursday was far more powerful than anything its residents had heard before.Witnesses reported a low hissing sound followed by a blast that made nearby apartment buildings tremble and threw a car on a store roof. It left a 20-meter (66-foot) -wide crater in the middle of a tree-lined boulevard flanked by apartment buildings, shattering their windows, damaging several cars and injuring two residents. A third person was later hospitalized with hypertension.Immediately after the explosion, Russian commentators and military bloggers were abuzz with theories a...

17 states, DC, urge recall of Kia, Hyundai cars in social media challenge

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:36 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Attorneys general in 17 states on Thursday urged the federal government to recall millions of Kia and Hyundai cars because they are too easy to steal, a response to a sharp increase in thefts fueled by a viral social media challenge.Some Kia and Hyundai cars sold in the United States over the last decade do not have engine immobilizers, a standard feature on most cars that prevents the engine from starting unless the key is present.Videos circulating on the social media service TikTok have shown how people can start Kia and Hyundai models by using only a screwdriver and a USB cable. In Los Angeles, thefts of Hyundai and Kia cars increased by about 85% in 2022, now accounting for 20% of all car thefts in the city, according to the California attorney general's office.These social media-inspired thefts have often ended in tragedy, with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration blaming the stolen car trend for 14 reported crashes and eight deaths. In ...

U.S. News & World Report delays law, medical school rankings amid inquiries from schools

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:36 GMT

(The Hill) - U.S. News and World Report is delaying its law and medical school rankings, amid an influx of inquiries from schools about how the data is collected, the company said on Wednesday.U.S. News said it has received an “unprecedented number of inquiries” from schools during its data review period for the 2023-2024 Best Graduate Schools lists, causing it to further delay its law and medical school rankings.“We are working to address these inquiries,” the company said in a statement. “The level of interest in our rankings, including from those schools that declined to participate in our survey, has been beyond anything we have experienced in the past.”The news organization had previously announced that it was delaying the release of all graduate school rankings until April 25.However, in its latest update, the company did not provide a specific timeline for the law and medical school rankings, instead saying they “will be released when this work has been completed.”The well-kn...

Another round of rain, severe storm risk this weekend

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:36 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- After heavy rain, hail and a threat of tornadoes, our weather quiets down some today... but the break will be brief.A few quick, light showers may breeze through the area this morning, but cooler and dry weather are expected Friday afternoon through Saturday midday.Weekend forecastStorm chances return late Saturday evening with a low severe weather risk for some in the Hill Country. Sunday looks like a cool, rainy day.Recap of Thursday's severe weather eventA complex of severe thunderstorms brought flash flooding and water rescues in north Austin, large hail to many communities, and Tornado Warnings in several counties. Storms continue south of Austin overnight, but will clear the area Friday after a quick early-morning sprinkle.Isolated storm development Thursday afternoon produced brief quarter-size hail in Leander. An evening cold front then brought the main event. Ping pong ball size hail was reported in Fredericksburg, Liberty Hill and La Grange as a lumbering ...

Man dies after being shot by officers on Highway 290

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:36 GMT

MANOR, Texas (KXAN) – Texas Rangers and the Travis County Sheriff's Office are investigating after officers shot a man along Highway 290 late Thursday night. Police say the man was armed with a knife. According to Manor Police Chief Ryan Phipps, Austin Police were called about an attempted carjacking and stabbing at the Capitol Wright Distribution Center around 8:50 p.m.Phipps said officers went to look for the suspect when a Travis County deputy found the man around 9:25 p.m. on Highway 290. According to Phipps, the man was "non-compliant." TCSO deputies and Manor Police officers arrived shortly afterwards. The suspect was walking in the main lanes of the roadway, according to Phipps.Phipps said a deputy used a Taser and shortly afterwards one Travis County deputy and a Manor police officer fired shots. According to Phipps, Manor PD started life-saving measures immediately until Travis County Emergency Services District No. 12 and Austin Travis County EMS arrived, but the...

98.3 TRY Social Dilemma: I don't want to be with my family on Mother's Day

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:36 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Today's TRY Social Dilemma is about family and Mother's Day. Here's the email. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Hi Jaime. I hear you talk about your mom all the time, so I was hoping you could use this Mother's Day problem for your dilemma. As you know, Mothers’ Day is coming up in a few weeks and I’m already dreading it. Not because of any issue with my mother. We get along great. But I know she’ll want all of her kids to come over for dinner and I refuse to be in the same room with my sister or brother. I came out about five years ago. My mother accepted me immediately. However, my brother and sister still don't want to admit that they have a gay sister. They treat me horribly when we're together, constantly saying negative things. So, because of that, I haven't spent any significant time with them over the last few years. I’ve told my mother I’d love to take her out to dinner or spend time with he...

Man admits to using fake cash at Queensbury Walmart

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:36 GMT

BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. (NEWS10) — A Brooklyn man busted on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022, for using fake money at the Queensbury Walmart, admitted to the crime on Thursday. Nicholas C. Hendricks, 29, was among three people who allegedly tried to pay for merchandise with forged cash. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Troopers were called to the North Country supermarket around 1:18 p.m. on the October date. The suspects drove off in their car before officers arrived. Just before 2 p.m., that car was spotted on the I-87 Northway, near Wilton, and the trio was pulled over. During the traffic stop, Hendricks—along with Kayla Vargas, 25, of New York City, and Terry S. Walley, 28, of Troy—was arrested. Officers searching the car found an undisclosed amount of fake money. Greenfield man pleads guilty to criminal sex act charge Hendricks was charged with one count of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the first degree and sent to ...

Woman injured in south St. Louis shooting

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:36 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- A woman was hurt in a shooting overnight in south St. Louis. She was shot in the back while sitting in a car shortly after 1 a.m. today. That was on Gravois at the intersection of South Compton Avenue and Wyoming Street. Evidence technicians were examining several bullet holes in the car.

St. Louis police chief Robert Tracy marks 100 days in office, swears in new recruits

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:36 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis police chief Robert Tracy marked 100 days in office this week. He'll speak about his new job at police headquarters. Tracy is originally from New York.He was the first chief hired from outside the ranks of the St. Louis police department in the city's history. He plans to talk about crime in the city, along with improving officer morale and building stronger community relationships.Chief Tracy also swore in new members of the police force last night at Harris-Stowe State University. Fifteen recruits graduated from the St. Louis Police Academy after completing 32 weeks of training. Even after adding 15 new officers, the police department is still short about 200 officers as recruiting efforts continue.